camera. 84-year-old urslanixonlostcontrol of her car on friday, and some good samaritans braved the cold waters to pull her out. police say nixon sped through a stop sign, two fences and an oceanfront barrier before she ended up in the portland harbor. she's in fair condition. several of her rescuers were treated for hypothermia. >>> a 10-year-old boy in philadelphia is in big trouble. see that white van crashing into those cars right there. police say on sunday he stole it and he's the one behind the wheel. surveillance camera shows him getting out and trying to run away, but someone stops him. police say the boy saw the keys on the rear door and went on a brief joyride. he wasn't just slapped on the wrist either. he's expected to be charged with auto theft. >>> in hong kong, a deadly ferry collision. a boat filled with revelers slammed into the ferry. more than 100 people were injured and sent to hospitals. report say the ferry captain was afraid to stop, so he safely returned to port. >>> in california, at least 20 passengers were injured when an amtrak train collided with a truc

other people were squabbling amongst each other. the famous case of john kennedy andrichardnixon. evenreagan and carter in 1980. the confidence and ease that ronald reagan projected and jimmy carter looked a little bit defensive. that's the impression that lasts. >> even al gore and george w. bush i think is a good example of body language told so much during those debates. al gore was up in the polls and had a series of very poor debate performances. >> al gore had been a very effective, aggressive debater. in the first debate, he was seen as being too aggressive. the famous sighs and all the rest. in the second debate, he was almost too laid back. by the third he had a kind of just right approach, but by that time, those performances and all the other factors in the 2011 election held him back. >> how important is humor? >> it can be very important, but it's something that has to -- i guess some humorous lines probably are prescripted. there you go again by reagan most people feel w prepared. that, of course, is the magic. >> remember what lloyd benson said about dan quayle an

presidentrichardnixonseemeduncomfortable, even sweaty. as the debate's producer, the late don hewitt, remembered. >> i looked at him on camera and i thought, oh, my god, this is trouble. >> reporter: the first lesson: the debates would not just be about what you said but how you looked when you said it. and mistakes could have huge consequences. in 1976 at the height of the cold war, president gerald ford mysteriously declared -- >> there is no soviet domination of eastern europe. >> reporter: he lost to jimmy carter. but in 1984, another incumbent, ronald reagan, used the debates to diffuse criticism of his advancing age. >> you already are the oldest president in history. >> reporter: he was 73 at the time. >> i am not going to exploit for political purposes my opponent's youth and inexperience. (laughter) >> "i was smiling" watt walter mondale later said "but i knew he'd gotten me there." other lessons, it may be best not to start your opening statement this way. >> who am i? why am i here? >> reporter: as admiral james stockdale, ross pro's running mate did, in 1992. don't

. you go back in history. we all learnedhownixonbeatkennedy on the radio but on tv he lost. >> does it swing the way voters will vote in november what happens in these debates? >> here's another thing that's really important for romney. likability. he needs to get a human moment in there. there's a poll out where more people want to see obama on "dancing with the stars" than romney. that's sully. it's absolutely ridiculous but it talks about something obama has that romney has had a difficult time overcoming. >> it's something we heard with george w. bush and al gore at one time. thank you very much. he'll be watching the debates tomorrow in richmond with a group of voters. 9news and "u.s.a. today" are teaming up for debate night. beginning tomorrow night at 9:00, u.s.a. today reporters will be fact checking and counting blinks of what the candidates say. see it live on wusa9.com and catch aamer's reporting from virginia. you nova v.a. is a battleground state for this election. now to howard for the forecast. >>> thanks. scattered showers out there so grab the rain gear but

bragg, north carolina, i wanted to be a good citizen. >> in 1960 it happened to kennedy/nixon. >> i made a bet kennedy would win and i got $5 out of it. >> the rest of us got a tradition, an evolving tradition praised and criticized over the last 52 years. >> what about you? do you think debates are good now or bad? >> i don't know. we'll see wednesday. >> i guess we will. mr. kahn is a good reminder to all of us that often the americans who make democracy better are the americans who don't take democracy for granted. anita? >> exactly, gary. be sure to join us wednesday night beginning at 9:00 p.m. on our website. we're going to be streaming the debate and fact checking it live to see what the candidates say. also join us for the wrap-up of the debate at 11:00. of course, you can watch it here on wusa at 9:00. >>> tonight at 11:00, american university students being warned about a man fondling women near campus. in the last week this happened four times. all of the incidents happening in the 4200 block of massachusetts avenue between the berkshire apartments and the ward circle bui

be a good citizen. >> in 1960, it happened.kennedy,nixon. >>i got $5. >> the rest of us got a tradition. an evolving tradition praised and criticized over the last 52 years. >> what about you? do you think debates are good now or bad? >> i don't know. mr. cann is a good reminder, often the americans who make democracy better are the americans who don't take democracy for granted. gary, 9news. >> i give the debates two thumbs up. i think it's important to know what our candidates think and put them on the spot here. now tonight, i am here at u.s.a. today's newsroom where our live coverage gins tonight at 9:00. you can catch the debate on our website. of course you can join us for a wrap up of the debate tonight at 11:00. and topper shutt has the story on what the weather is looking like out there. top. >> first of all, talk about fall colors. we're looking at near peek as you go on the other side of the divide past cumberland, over toward oakland. some good color showing toward i-81. wait a couple of weeks. some color, but south and east, no color at all. all right, next three